Phonograph



W. H. MILLER.

PHONOGRAPH.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. K1918.

Patented Aug. 24, 1920.

device.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WALTER H. MILLER, 0F ORANGE, NEW JERSEY.

PHONOGRAPH.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, VALTER H. MILLER, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Orange, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Phonographs, of which the following is a description.

My invention. relates to phonographs, and more particularly to an improved phonographic recording device. In the cutting of the sound record groove in making a phonograph record, the recording stylus removes the material of the record tablet in the form of light, thin, long shavings. These shavings are easily dispersed and ordinarily soon gather on the various parts of the recording Sooner or later the shavings are vary apt to clog the operating mechanism of the device and to interfere with its proper operation, thus preventing satisfactory records from being obtained. More over, the scattering of the shavings is objeetionable from the standpoint of cleanliness, especially so in the case of home recording.

The principal object of my invention is to prevent the material removed from sound record tablets in forming records thereon, from being dispersed or scattered about so as to obviate the foregoing objections. Preferably, I accomplish this result by providing the phonographic recording device with meansof a novel character for breaking up the shavings as they are out fromthe record tablet by the recording stylus, into .small pieces or chips which will fall and gather only on the record tablet itself or the holder or support for the latter.

A further object of the invention is to provide improved means for effecting movement of the recorder to inoperative position by movement of the carrier therefor, such means and the means above described for preventing scattering of the material removed from the record tablet preferably being unitary.

Another object of my invention is to provide in a device of this character a novel arrangement of the recorder and the sound conveyer leading thereto and animproved connection therebetween, whereby there will be no interference with the proper operation of the recorder when the latter is in operative position and no chattering or vibration duced by the sound waves, will occur.

Specification of Letters Patent. Pate t d A 24 1920.

Application filed October 7, 1918.

Serial No. 257,157.

Other features of my invention reside in the construction of parts and combinations of elements hereinafter more fully described and claimed.

In order that my invention may be more clearly understood, attention is directed to the drawing accompanying and forming a part of this specification, and in which:

. Figure 1 is a view in side elevation, partly in section and partly broken away, of a .phonographic recording device embodying my invention, showing the parts in operative position with respect to a record tablet;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the device shown in Fig. 1; and

Fig. 3 is a sectional view on line 3-3 of Fig. 1 looking toward the right.

Referring to the drawing, reference character 1 represents the horn or sound conveyer of my improved recording device, which is provided at its small end with a cylindrical open-ended portion 2. The sound conveyor 1 is mounted rigidly on a traveling carrier 3 in a substantially horizontal position, as by means of a straps which embraces the cylindrical portion 2 of the latter being supported in the spaced lower end portions 10 of a strap 11 which is mounted on the tubular portion 2 of the sound conveyer. The strap 11 is resilient and is frictionally secured to the tubular end portion 2 of the sound conveyor as by a screw 12 which adjustably connects flat opposed portions with which the strap is provided just above the spaced lower end portions 10 thereof.

The diaphragm 13 is. surrounded by a ring or gasket 14 of rubber or other yielding material and is forced into place within the depending circumferential flange 15 of the casing 7 past an annular lip 16 with which the lower edge of the flange is provided, being frictionally and removably held in place by said gasket 14. A support17 is fastened to the outer side of the diaphragm substantially centrally thereof; and an inclined stylus supporting arm 18 is secured at its upper end to th'e diaphragm adjacent the edge thereof and adjacent its lower end to the support 17, the recording stylus 19 being rigidly mounted inv the lower end of the arm and extending therefrom.

The casing 7 is provided with a central opening surrounded by aaspherical socket 20 in which an angular weighted tube 21 rests atits lower end and forms-a ball and socket joint therewith, the lower end of the tube 21 being providedwith a spherical flange 22 to closely fit the socket 20. The

tube 21 is preferably bent sothat its two end portions will be substantially at right angles, and the end thereof opposite that engaging socket 20 has a sliding and pivotal connectlon with the cylindrical end portion 2 of the sound conveyer 1. Preferably, the upper end portion of the tube 21 extends intothe cylindrical portion 2 and is provided at its end with a circumferential bevel-edged flange 23 which fits rather closely in the portion 2 and'permits sliding'movement ofthe tube 21 in the portion 2 and also pivotal movement thereof with reference to the portion 2 about the edge of the flange 23 as a fulcrum. A member 24; is secured at one end, as by means of screws 25, to the'top of casing 7 and is formed at its other end into a stirrup .26, the arms of which partially-embrace the tube 21 just above the flange 22 to prevent this tube from being accidentally displaced from its engagement with the socket 20.

A member 27 is secured to the under side of the arm or projection 8', as by means of slightly above the lower cutting end of the screws 28, and is provided on one sideof ,itspoint of support with an arm. 29 which extends downwardly and then rearwardly toward the recording stylus -19. Theend of the arm '29 is formed into a flat downwardly, inclined. portion 30 which is posi tioned in proximity to and slightly in ad Vance ofthe stylus 19, with its loweredge stylus; Gn'the oppositeside of its point of support, the member 27 is provided with a forwardly extending arm 31,. the end of which is formed into an-upwardly inclined portion 32 disposed below the horizontal portion 6 'ofstrap 1.

. Fig. .1 shows. the carriage 3 lowered to such a position that the recorder is inoperative position with the stylus 19 engaging the record tablet 33 to cut a sound record groove therein. The tablet 33 is rotatedso that the portion thereof which is engaged by the stylus travels relatively to the latter 1 now in a substantially horizontal positionor substantially parallel to thetablet 33, and

in the direction indicated by the arrow. The diaphragm casing 7 and d1aphragm13 are the end portion 32 of member 27 is spaced below the horizontal .portion 6 of strap The casing 7 with the parts carried thereby is now free to move up and down with respect to the sound conveyer about the pivot pin -9 to allow the stylus 19 to follow the large surface irregularities of the tablet 33, the slidable and pivotal connection of the bevel-edged flange 23 of the weighted right: angular tube '21 with the interior of the cylindrical end portion 2 of the conveyer 1 permitting such movement. The weighted tube 21 exerts a yielding pressure on the diaphragm casing and prevents chattering or vibration of the stylus 19, which would otherwise be caused by the resistance of the material of the record tablet to the cutting 39 of the record groove in the latter by the stylus.

. The lower edge of flat portion 30 of the member 27 is spaced sufficiently above the cutting end of stylus 19 so as not to interfere with the engagement of the latter with the tablet 33. This portion 30, however, is

positioned with respect to the stylus as above described, so that the long thin shavings of material removed from the tablet during the cutting of the record groove therein by the stylus, will impinge thereagainst. These shavings will accordingly be-broken up by the portion 30. into small pieces or chips which will consequently fall 7 or gather only on the tablet 33 from which they. may be readily removed after the recording operation is finished. The flat portion 30 may, therefore, be aptly described as-a breaker. The small chips into which, the shavings are broken up by the breaker,

.do not ordinarily interfere with the proper or .whenever' it is desired to remove the stylus 19 from engagement with the tablet 33, the carriage 3 is raised from the position shown in Flg. 1 by suitable means, not

shown. As the carriage is raised, the recorder will, of course, tend to move downwardly relatively thereto, about the pivot pin.-9.- This relative movement, however, will be limited by the engagement of portion 32 of'member .27 and the horizontal portion 6 of strap a, and accordingly the recorder will also be raised. and the stylus 19 ,removed from engagement with tablet 33.

While I have described a preferred embodiment of my invention, it is to be understood that the same is subject to various modifications and changes in the size, shape and arrangement of its parts without departing from the scope of the appended claims.

Having now described my invention, what I claim and desire to protect by Letters Patent is as follows l. in a device of the class described, a phonograph recorder, and a device having a breaker disposed in proximity to and in advance of the recording stylus.

2. In a device of the class described, a phonograph recorder, and a device having a breaker disposed in proximity to and in advance of the recording stylus, said breaker being slightly above the cutting end of the stylus so as not to engage the record tablet when the recorder is in operative position. x

3. A phonograph recorder, comprising a diaphragm casing, a diaphragm mounted therein, a recording stylus in operative relation to said diaphragm, and a member secured to said casing and having an arm extending toward said stylus, the free end portion of said arm comprising a breaker and being disposed adjacent to and in advance oi the stylus.

4. In a device of the class described, a phonograph recorder, and means disposed adjacent to and in advance of the stylus of the recorder for breaking up the material as it is removed by the stylus in cutting the record groove in the record tablet, said means being constructed and arranged so that said material when broken up thereby will fall therefrom onto the record tablet.

This specification signed and witnessed this 5th day of October, 1918.

VALTER I-I. MILLER.

J. UNGER. 

